Submarine-destroyer.



J. A. GAULT.

SUBMARINE DESTROYER.

APPLICATION FILED on. n. I917.

Patented Jan. 15, 1918.

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SUBMARINE DESTROYER.

APPLICATION nuzo OCT. H. I917.

Patented Jan. 15, 1918.

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7 :9 I El I PM L U U E ADD 6 E EL Am N Am T A UC H P P A 1 M, m w w WW 3 a l W J M UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN A. GAULT, OF LANCASTER, WISCONSIN.

sUBMARmE-DESTROYEB.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 15, 1918.

Application filed October 11, 1917. Serial No. 196,036.

and useful Improvements in Submarine- Destroyers; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention has for its object to provide highly eflicient means whereby submarines may be located and destroyed, the invention consisting briefly of a magnet, towed by means of a cable, beneath and in rear of a vessel, for locating submerged objects such as submarine vessels and mines, and means for lowering a bomb to destroy the submerged object when it is once entrapped by the magnet.

With the foregoing general object in view the invention resides in the novel features of construction, .and unique combinations of parts to be hereinafter fully described and claimed, the descriptive matter being supplemented by the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a vessel equipped with the invention, the magnet being lowered for combin the yvlzgter to locate submerged vessels an the Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but illustrating a submarine trapped by the magnet and about to be destroyed by the bomb lowered from the ship upon which the invention is carried;

Fig.- 3 is a top plan view of the parts shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

M Fig. 4 is a side elevation, partly in section, showing the winding drum or Windlass of the magnet lowering cable and the wires which conduct electric current thereto from the ship; and

Fig. 5 is a detail vertical section of the float through which said cable and wires ass. p Inthe drawings above briefly described, the numeral 1 designates a common t of floating shi this ship being preferab y of the screw riven type and driven as fast as practicable, so that a large area may be covered in a predetermined time. A base 2 is shown'secured rigidlyupon the deck of the ship 1, at the stern thereof, said base preferably extending rearwardly beyond the hull as shown'clearly in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, it being upon this base that most of the working parts of the present invention are mounted.

Pivoted at 3 to the rear end of the base 2, is a rearwardly projecting vertically swinging boom 4 which is by preferance extensible and retractable, set screws or the like 5 being provided for holding it in adjusted position. The, rear end of the boom 4 is forked as shown at 6, and a suitably shaped float 7 is mounted pivotally in said fork, said float havin formed therethrough a guideway 8 as eatured in Fig. 5. A suitable cable 9 and an electric wire cable 10 pass slidably through the guideway 8 and at intervals are secured together by suitable clips 11, these clips being preferably disposed at predetermined points so that they may be provided with indicating members as shown in Fig. 5, whereby the depth at which the magnet 12 is located, may be readily determined, said magnet being carried by the lower end of the cable 9 and supplied with electric current from the cable 10. This current is supplied to the cable 10 from a storage battery 13 at any suitable point on the ship 1, a generator 14 being provided for charging said battery to the required extent. The generator 14 may either be driven from the internal mechanism of the ship 1, or from an individual motor or engine such as 15.

The two cables 9 and 10 are wound upon a drum 16 suitably mounted upon the base 2, the anchored ends of the last named cable, being passed through the hollow end 17 of the shaft of the drum 16 and secured to a pair of contact rings 18 which are insulated from said shaft, that is the two wires 19 which comprise the cable 10, are secured to said rings. Suitable brushes 20 contact.

with the rings 18, and current conducting wires 21 lead from these brushes to the battery. It will thus be obvious that no matter how much the cables are wound or unwound, the current supply of the magnet 12 will always be constant.

Any preferred means could be employed for raising and lowering the boom 4, but for illustrative purposes I have shown a cable 22 secured at its outer end to the free end of said boom, and wound at its other end on a drum 23 mounted on the base 2 adjacent the or the like 31 on its free end. This cablemay be used for numerous purposes, but it is intended primarily for the purpose of lowering a bomb 32, for the purpose of destroying a submarine or mine entrapped by the magnet 12 as depicted in Fig. 2. I

In operation, a fleet of ships 1 will travel abreast towing the magnet 12, and the moment any of these magnets come in the immediate vicinity of a submerged metallic object, it will be attracted to such object. The cables 7 and 10 are then payed out to prevent any possibility of pulling the magnet from the object, and in the meantime the ship may be brought to a standstill. In some cases, the force of the magnet may be great enough to permit raising of the entire submerged vessel or the like by winding of the cables 9 and 10, but in most cases, a bomb such as 32 will be lowered to destroy the entrapped object. It is to be understood that before exploding of the bomb, the vessel 1 moves off a safe distance to prevent injury thereto.

From the foregoing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be obvious that although my invention is of comparatively simple and inexpensive na-' ture, and may readily be adapted to practically all types of vessels, it will be highly eflicient and durable. Since probably the best results are obtained from the features of construction shown and described, these features have been illustrated, but I wish it understood that within the scope of the invention as claimed, numerous changes may well be made without sacrificing the principal advantages.

tical guideway formed therethrough, a cable passing slidably through said guideway, a magnet on the lower end of said cable, and winding means on the vessel for the other end of said cable.

3. The combination of a floating vessel, a base secured to the deck thereof, at the stern of the vessel, upper and lower booms extend-- ing rearwardly from said base and pivoted thereto for vertical swinging, means for so swinging said booms and holding them in adjusted position, a float carried by the rear end of the lower boom and having a guide- Way, a cable passing through said guideway, an electro-magnet on the lower end of said cable, a sheave on the upper boom over which said cable passes, winding means on said base, for said cable, a second sheave on said upper boom, below the other, an additional cable passing over said sheave for lowering a bomb, and winding means for said additional cable mounted on said base.

A The combination of a floatin vessel, an electro-magnet to be towed there y, a towin cable for said magnet, a current supply ca le for said magnet extending along said towing cable, and clips securing the two cables together at intervals, said clips having means thereon for indicating the depth at which the magnet is traveling.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto setmy hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN A. GAULT. Witnesses:

W. C. SHOWALTER, JOHNSON. 

